Ford, UAW agree to offer buyouts to ALL hourly employees

DEARBORN -- Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers union have agreed to extend buyouts to all Ford hourly workers in the United States.
The move addresses Wall Street's chief concern, namely that the pace of Ford's downsizing is proceeding too slowly. Though the company had set a goal of eliminating some 30,000 factory jobs by 2012, its targeted buyout program had only trimmed about 6,500 positions as of Sept. 1.
The new program is expected to lead to a much broader exodus from the company.